Summary: Our sins have been forgiven. Our hearts should be joyful and focused on Christ

Now, in that same vein, may I suggest that your emotions have a profound affect upon the way you feel.

Maybe King Solomon said it best when he wrote these words, "A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones." [Proverbs 17:22]

~Our emotions cause us to sweat, to weep, to tremble.

~Our emotions cause us to turn white with fear, red with embarrassment, purple with anger, and

green with nausea.

~Our emotions really do effect us physically.

ILL. Perhaps the most famous example of this is the recovery of Norman Cousins from what was diagnosed as an incurable disease. He was bedridden & the doctors gave him no hope at all. So he decided on his own treatment. His family got a movie projector & rented all the Charlie Chaplin & Abbott & Costello movies that they could find - movies where you just sit back & laugh because they are genuinely funny.

He ran one movie after another, & the more he watched the more he laughed. The more he laughed, the better he felt. First thing you know, the doctors could find no evidence of the incurable disease.

ILL. Last week, on the editorial page of the Valley Morning Star, Paul Harvey stated that for the last 10 years Norman Cousins has been on the staff of the UCLA School of Medicine & is pioneering a new medical discipline: "pyschoneuro-immunology."

The article states, "Carefully controlled experiments conducted by Cousins & his associates demonstrate that you - just by controlling your mind set - can alter your temperature, your blood pressure & your blood chemistry in a matter of minutes."

It goes on to say, "There is now evidence that cancer patients - liberated from depression - can actually activate the anti-cancer capability of the immune system. ’The human body,’ contends Cousins, ’is far more robust than people have been led to believe. A strong will to live, along with the other positive emotions - faith, love, purpose, determination, humor - boosts disease-fighting immune cells.’"

A. So the proverb is true. If you’re joyful in your heart, then that is good medicine. But if you’re

not joyful, if your spirit is broken, then it dries up your bones. You become old & tired, & a

person no one wants to be around.

a. Who are the people to whom we are attracted?

1. "Gloomy Gus" who walks around with a frown on his face?

2. The person who sees all the bad things in the world, who is thoroughly convinced that

everything is going to fall apart?

Is that the kind of person with whom we love to spend our time?

B. No, not at all! We are attracted to the person who has a smile on his face, & joy in his heart.

C. But someone says, "Well all right, preacher, I hear you. But circumstances in my life aren’t

that good. Things have been tough. Just why should my heart be filled with joy?"

I believe that if you will take these 3 reasons home with you & live with them daily, that it will